On Essence of Chasidus #1 - History of publication - Reb Yoel's humility - English edition

so a good day to everyone we're starting today uh the contras in yanoi shall teresa hasidis um from the rebel let me give you the a brief history in 1965 on yotescus live uh the rebbe after the mimer that the rebbe said he said a sikh of about 30 33 minutes about what is the point of hasidis what's the point accomplishment of hasidis what does khasis want not what is qasidis what does it want and that talk was it was taken by rabio khan the rebels chief er kind of interpreter in hebrew we know that to be the kaiser and he took that sikha of the and he prepared it for the rabbit to edit and he prepared it extensively and the rebel edited extensively and the book in front of you the book that we're learning is that expansion of that talk that he gave in nineteen sixty five a you test kislif so that's the the simply the the historical uh aspect of this countries we call it a countrys it's not a safer right it's called contras in english it doesn't have the word countries it just has in your national terrorist because that's the name of the countries the countries means the pamphlet now although this was said 1965 it was not published until 19 december i believe 1970 in the back of the first volume of the chabad that was prepared by rabio and today i believe there are already nine or ten volumes with many more in the works this contras was used as a a supplement to that safer in other words there's an encyclopedia which gets right into the details aleph is ava and abu ban you know like encyclopedia follows the the alphabet the hebrew alphabet and the rebbe agreed to have this expanded addition of what is the point of hasidis as a supplement printed in the back of that safer okay so that's the first time that it actually was pre in print form i believe december 1970 and finally the uh originally they wanted to call this contrast the essence of tarzan see this the rabbi actually crossed out the hebrew word mahus and supplements is substituted it with the word enyano which means on the topic of now in english i don't know who told them to do this and i don't know if it's you know i'm not i don't think the rabbit gave it its english name in other words the he the hebrew word mahus means essence and there ever crossed out the hebrew word when they when they when they originally presented the the the the contrast to the rabbi after you prepared it they gave it the name social terrorist and the river crossed out and he wrote in yono but in english in the english they did write the word essence now i think the way they're compensating for the rabbit crossing out the word essence and they keeping the word essence is by writing the word on on the now you see the word on the as coming before the word essence means this is not the essence it's about the essence so just like in in in hebrew the word inyana is a substitute for the word mohusa in in english it seems to me i'm not the the major in english but if i believe that by writing on the essence of hasidis it's it's it's not saying this is the essence of hasidis but rather this is about the essence of hasidis and that is true because this countries will explain to us and we'll read the preface in a moment will explain to us what the essence of qasidis is and what is its point and this was said in 65 it was said shortly after the rebbe's mother passed away uh verve tishrei uh of 1965 the rabbi's mother passed away and the river started to expound arashi uh whenever he spoke shabbos out of aprengan that from that from his mother's passing he expounded on arashi and explained and showed harashi isn't just answering explaining the text but rashi integrates all of torah through rashi in addition to answering the simple questions that of even a five-year-old can ask on the text of the torah so in a similar vein the rebbe explains in this countries how hasidis isn't just a feel-good philosophy it's not just a bright philosophy but rather it's something that enhances every aspect of torah torah being shot remiss there are four ways of learning torah the simple text the the the esoteric text the homiletical text and and um the uh the uh what's it called what it alludes to the muslim uh michelin remus right so secret yeah secrets and and cryptic secrets etc so the point being there ever says i'm going to take one example which he uses the example of maidani we'll see much later and he shows how you understand mo dhani on each of these four ways of learning and understanding torah and then he shows you how hasidis understands modani and how it it enhances the shock the remiss the drush site in in understanding modernity and we'll it'll be seen later let's now go to page seven and i'll read out loud uh quickly the preface on the essence we'll see this a discourse by the baby a blessed memory is a definitive uh systematic explanation of the nature and idea of hasidic philosophy the discourse originally delivered by the red but the 90th kiss lived 1960 it's a mistake it should be 1965 not 1925 and subsequently printed in 1970 like i told you delves deeply into the essential nature of hasidic thought describing the unique role qasidis plays within tata and it's fundamental connection with with the soul the discourse was first published in english by kahus uh in 1978 in english what i was telling you before was in hebrew that it was published in 1970 the first time in hebrew but in english the first time was published was for the rebels birthday 1978 in honor of the 76th birthday the the current edition contains revisions clarifications and commentary and presents both the hebrew and english together for the first time an excerpt from a talk given by the rabbi the last day of pesach 1970 which touches upon matters that are relevant to the idea discussed in the in the main text appears as an appendix i'm sorry i uh i just wanted to ask uh i don't know i don't have the book in front of me yet oh uh but but once early on in uh in my uh in my learning career i came across a book that was uh a discourse of the rebels of something like a hundred interpretations of moda ani are you familiar with that and is this related to what we're learning now yeah except it's a little exaggerated uh it wasn't a hundred it was four four four interpretations of multani not a hundred this is it i i've never been good at math yeah well that's pretty obvious i'm just joking anyway no but i do think it was more than that anyway okay but i i it sounds from what you're saying this is the text okay hundred interpretations i mean not even 59 and 30. um i believe it's okay now guys having a go to page yes sir hello i have by now is a familiar phenomenon and a source of uh curiosity and fascination to many uh though the its founders face many difficult struggles it has now become universally known and admired authors of all the varieties of belief and practice have written countless volumes about its origins history and the philosophy and philosophy anthologies of stories and maxims told by and about hasidim have been completely have been compiled and made available english for many years yet many of these works have been produced by outside admirers not always steeped in the knowledge of hasidic philosophy not familiar with its more intricate and profound teachings hence many of these attempts made to define hasidis and to describe its precise relation to the rest of tata have not been at all satisfactory the need of the english reader for a definition of hasidis from within hasidic leaders and thinkers themselves has long been recognized and the essence of khasimus is a definitive explanation of the nature and idea of hasidic philosophy indeed one of the prime aims of khabar hasidis is to systematically define and elucidate general hasidis in rational intellectual terms as will be explained at great length in the text hasidis has been popularly conceived especially by outside historians and biographers as a teaching which primarily emphasizes joy enthusiasm emotion etc albeit within the framework of the traditional jewish codes of law that is one who probes more deeply into works of hasidic philosophy might be surprised therefore to find great emphasis placed on the actual practical performance of mitzvahs on simple deed or action in itself though not explicitly referring to the seeming dilemma of whether cassidis is expressed more in the effect with an a or in action the rebbe answers the question by presenting the concept of this next page 14 as one of essence in other words hasidis is is his essence and analyzes the various modes in which quote essence comes to be revealed hence the focal point of the of the present discourse is the essence of hasidis and it is a deep and searching inquiry into the central core of hasidic philosophy and practice and is not only an introduction to the subject but also an integral part of classic hasidic literature that ever precisely defines this this the unique relationship qasidis has with the other parts of toyota and the traditional forms of interpretation with kabbalah with the various dimensions of the soul with the concept of mashiach and with the divine attributes known as sweenot fetus he explains the role and function of hasidis in the world and the imperative reasons for its dissemination furthermore the rap clarifies and illuminates the nature and essence of hasidis by selecting one specific topic in tito analyzing it in light of the four traditional forms of interpretations and then exploring the very same topic in light of hasidis he thus proceeds to show hakasidas vivifies and illuminates each of these four approaches to tita the topic significantly is the meaning of the first words a person utters when he awakens from his sleep in the morning the prayer maida ani which is the fundamental starting point of a jew's spiritual service for the entire day finally the rabbit demonstrates the manner in which all the ideas of qasida's are reflected in vitalize and illuminate even the technical and legalistic parts of tata using the example of the laws of acqui acquisition through four cubits which will be explained later any questions so far we continue the discourse was delivered by the river on the hasidic holiday of 1965 was originally published at the end of the first volume of the chabad encyclopedia in 1970 and reprinted in a separate cover in 1971 a supplementary appendix ex excerpt excerpted from a talk given by the rebel on the last day of pesach 1970 was added to the 1971 edition in it that ebb explains why different parts of trader come to be revealed in at different times in jewish history it's a very important point and in particular why hasidis has been revealed only in the latter generation in other words if it's so important and it's so great that explains all of taylor why wasn't it revealed before the belgium and so they have explained that in in a talk that he gave and it was printed a pace of 1970 top of page 15 since the subject matter of the pesach talk is relevant to the ideas delivered in the essence of hasidis it has also been translated into english and added as an appendix in the present edition yutas kislev the date on which the discourse was originally given celebrates the day upon which the founder of the chabad uh was released from a russian prison he had been arrested and falsely accused of subversive political activities and treason because of his leadership of the hasidic movement on the 19th day of kiss live in 1798 he was completely exonerated and freed on on express orders of the czar this date ever since has been celebrated by jews the world over and especially amongst kabbalah for among other reasons it marks the decisive turning point towards victory in the struggle to spread hasidis hence they've shown called it for his discourse on this special day is deeply connected to the meaning and inner significance of the holiday itself for it was rabbi schneider zaun who specifically brought the teachings of general khasidis as expounded by its founder the belgentiv into sister systematic intellectual comprehension so that was something that the altar ebba did hold on okay okay let's continue thus uh sorry that balchanto is well known for his emphasis on and practice of the great principle of abbas yisroel the commandment to our fellow yida's self even to the extent of self-sacrifice and for his affection for encouragement and teaching of the poor unlettered and opposed masses of jewry with the time was separated by a vast ghost from the scholarly elite by whom they were regarded as inferiors the basham to have emphasized the holiness of every yid stressing that everyone can serve hashem no matter what he or he what he or her background or knowledge he also re-emphasized the importance of joy in divine service and performance of mitzvos furthermore he taught the deeper doctrines of the esoteric part of traitor than manner that could be as understood even by the simpler top of page 16. slim simpler jew expressing these profound ideas through parables stories and effortlessness it was almond as has been said who formulated the general cassidis of the belgentev into a systematic comprehensible intellectual philosophy among his numerous and lengthy hasidic works or tanya is the is the best known and most widely read and has been translated to english and many other languages this classic is a concise outline of his philosophy written in a manner which enables people of all levels of understanding and and knowledge to grasp and more deeply understand understand each of the six leaders of chabad succeeding richness almond have continued to expand and disseminate hasidis not only through their discourses and theoretical writings but but through their life example with their self-sacrificing work for the good of all eden everywhere they have intensely fought and resisted the efforts of oppressive governments to destroy yiddish judaism god forbid placing themselves in great personal peril the sixth lubavitch of yitzchak schneiderson was imprisoned in 1927 and initially treated by the soviet government for his refu for his refusal to stop teaching tata in russia after his arrival in the united states in 1940 he proceeded to establish tata centers determined to reawaken the flame of trader and yiddish in america upon his passing in 1950 he was succeeded by his son-in-law the rebber who continued and intensified this monumental task spreading the light of tater and judaism america and the entire world to every eid wherever he or she may be and who has inspired countless yeedon everywhere in love for hashem tater and one's fellows man okay now page 17 let's read about this the text we're going to be using let's read a few notes here important notes notes on the translation and hebrew text in vowelizing the hebrew words in this edition we have followed the grammatical rules of the holy tongue of latin kaidish which occasionally differ from the traditional or colloquial pronunciation in the original hebrew text there are a hundred and thirty-five footnotes were added by the rabbit that have himself added 135 footnotes to the text in other words khan when he when he took the there ever spoke in 65 and ibuyl took that talk right it was on tape was the middle of the week and he expanded it clarified it so people can understand it better but he didn't write footnotes that's not his department the rebel was the one and then he submitted it to the rebber the rabbit took his expansion of what he originally said at the fabregan and he added 135 footnotes plus he made changes in the text so it is the rabbis text in other words i i want you i want to make it clear don't think that this is khan's um countries it's not his countries it's the rabbit's countries yo khan just took some things that that ever said in many things in a brief way because the rebel the rabbit told him years before i want you to clarify and elaborate in a way that anyone that reads it will understand that from a to z have the full picture and at the fabrega you understand you talk about at that time the property of fabrega went seven eight hours it was very long for brendan's okay so as it is that ever couldn't speak four hours it would take him four or five hours to save his whole country's right so he said it all in 33 minutes and dale khan took the 33 minutes and he opened it up and made it with this entire countries but how did he make it because the rebel was the one who added the 135 footnotes he edited added and and subtract the things that that rabbio wrote and he gave it back for publication that's what you have so you have the rebbe's actual um uh confirmation that this is the way i want the writing to appear in print clear so so you understand it's like i i rabbi salvation wrote you know very little but what he wrote he himself edited and made sure that's the way he wanted it to come out so it's even though he had a a person or people help prepare things that he said and put into writing because putting into writing is a very different style than just communicating through uh speech let's continue i want to finish this paragraph this page the translators third paragraph on page 17. the translators have also said i was talking about the translators of this text this version of the text the translators have also added their own attempted clarifications explanations of terms concepts names etc it should be understood that these commentaries and explanations are tentative and by no means an exhaustive or complete understanding of the text they are meant to make the text clearer and more accessible to readers of all backgrounds the text is a free translation and the translators have attempted to make the language as clear and simple as possible nevertheless the beginner may find some parts of the notes quite complex and perhaps difficult but they are meant to be of aid to those who also already have some knowledge of hasidis like we because we've been learning because of this for five years some of these notes develop independent topics and may be studied separately in addition the translators have researched thereby's references you see amongst available amongst those 135 references that that ever added to the text most of them are very brief you know see talmud page so-and-so so you have to ask yourself a question what is it in that piece of talmud that that adds clarity or asks a question or makes it you know on what on what what the text is you have to go check the talmud and you have to understand properly that piece of talent so what they've done here is they've done it for us that's what he says here that the translators have researched their rebbe's references and included summaries of the contents of these of those which they felt would be of inevitable aid to the reader thus alleviating the reader of the task of looking up this information to facilitate distinguishing between the words of whatever and those of the translators minor variations in the text and notes have been made all brackets are uniformly used to denote additions remark the clarification of the of the translators of the translators so we know now anything in brackets is not from the rabbit it's from the translators parentheses are used for the words of the river so this is a very very important note as we go through it if you want to know what that ever actually wrote or said it's an apprentices and if it's in brackets it's from the translators footnotes added by the translators are enclosed in brackets okay again footnotes added by the translators the original 135 footnotes are the rebbers they are in either in in you just you know there or if they have a parenthesis around them but but anything in brackets even footnotes is not from the red but it's not one of those 135 it's the translators editions all chapter titles are the translators in other words that ever did not do that but none of it you know did not write it's it's um the the what's it called i wanted to stand with one thing that rabbi label shapiro shiva in miami the great talmud he said over that after um this was prepared by rabbyoil i think he showed it through shapiro was a a student of his and close to him and he said aren't you going to put your name on on the bottom that this was prepared by you and he said hashtag and i think somewhere in the original introduction you could find the small words his name over there i think i'm not even sure of that but you know and and it wasn't knowing him it wasn't just you know lip service he he really felt that this is their this is not mine i have uh a school and i have a an obligation because whatever wants me to to clarify and elaborate and i'll do that but i don't take any credit whatsoever and i i think that's a an amazing thing to learn from you know i mean the average person puts his name you know one way the other and wants to be in a prominent way you know i spent all this time and here is someone who says no don't mention my name i mean robert shapiro says like when he when he went when he asked for oil he like he was surprised he gave it to him to look and look and he didn't see his names he said and he said absolutely not it was like like ha hoots but that you even asked me what's but that even it enters your mind that i would want to have my name there i think that's uh something great to learn from yes anyone to say something okay so heaven we read today we didn't do any teaching inside tomorrow we'll start he'll try to get the text so this way you'll have it and everyone have a great day we'll see everyone tomorrow zeitgeist bye bye everybody shalom bye-bye take care